Nonstop flight route between Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Aguadilla, Puerto Rico:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR), Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States and Rafael Hernández Airport (BQN), Aguadilla, Puerto Rico would travel a Great Circle distance of 2,651 miles (or 4,266 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Grand Forks Air Force Base and Rafael Hernández Airport, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Grand Forks Air Force Base and Rafael Hernández Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR):

• Due to the continuance of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, GFAFB was originally an Air Defense Command fighter-interceptor air base.
• On 1 September 1958, the Strategic Air Command established the 4133d Strategic Wing at Grand Forks as part of its plan to disperse its B-52 heavy bombers over a larger number of bases, thus making it more difficult for the Soviet Union to knock out the entire fleet with a surprise first strike.
• The furthest airport from Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 10,504 miles (16,904 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
• On 1 February 1993, ACC dropped the 319th Bomb Wing's primary nuclear mission and gave the wing the primary mission of B-1B conventional bombardment operations.
• The closest airport to Grand Forks Air Force Base (RDR) is Grand Forks International Airport (GFK), which is located only 10 miles (17 kilometers) E of RDR.
• On 26 May 1972, President Nixon and Soviet general secretary Leonid Brezhnev signed the ABM Treaty, which limited each nation to one site to protect strategic forces and one site to protect the "National Command Authority." With work about 85 percent complete at Grand Forks, the United States chose to finish construction at the North Dakota site.
• In addition to being known as "Grand Forks Air Force Base", another name for RDR is "Grand Forks AFB".
• SAGE operations were extremely expansive and GFADS was inactivated on 1 December 1963, when it was merged with the Minot Air Defense Sector at Minot AFB to the west.

Facts about Rafael Hernández Airport (BQN):

• In the summer of 2007 Spirit Airlines announced plans to begin service from the airport to their hub in Ft.
• Because of Rafael Hernández Airport's relatively low elevation of 237 feet, planes can take off or land at Rafael Hernández Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• The closest airport to Rafael Hernández Airport (BQN) is Eugenio María de Hostos Airport (MAZ), which is located only 17 miles (27 kilometers) S of BQN.
• In 2004, the Puerto Rico Ports Authority announced that it would be remodeling and expanding BQN to accommodate more flights and passengers.
• In 2006, Delta Connection began regional jet service to Atlanta, Georgia five times a week, although this service ended on January 20, 2007 as part of Delta's restructuring plan.
• Rafael Hernández Airport (BQN) currently has only 1 runway.
• Since the closure of Ramey AFB in 1974, the airport's control tower had remained standing, but was non-operational, limiting the airport to UNICOM communication as an uncontrolled airport.
• The furthest airport from Rafael Hernández Airport (BQN) is Barrow Island Airport (BWB), which is nearly antipodal to Rafael Hernández Airport (meaning Rafael Hernández Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Barrow Island Airport), and is located 12,204 miles (19,641 kilometers) away in Barrow Island, Western Australia, Australia.
• The Federal Aviation Administration approved a master plan to redevelop the Rafael Hernández Airport in Aguadilla that will involve an investment of $1 billion over the next 20 years.
• In the mid and late 1970s, the Ahrens Aircraft Corporation attempted to set up operations at former USAF industrial facilities at the airport in order to manufacture the Ahrens AR 404 regional airliner, a short takeoff and landing turboprop aircraft, with financial incentives promised by the Puerto Rican government for development.